Core Scripture: Romans 12:2
How often have we said that we want God’s will for our lives? We say it when we’re praying about a new job, a relationship, a major decision, or just trying to figure out what we’re supposed to be doing next. We ask God to guide us, give us direction, and help us make the right decisions. But I wonder how often we actually stop to consider what we’re asking. Do we genuinely want God’s will, or are we hoping that what God wants lines up with what we’ve already decided we want?
I think this is something many of us struggle with, whether we realize it or not. We have our own ideas about how life should go, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. We make plans, set goals, and work toward things that matter to us. But somewhere along the way, we can become so attached to those plans that we have a difficult time considering anything different. We say we trust God, but when things don’t happen the way we expected, we start questioning whether we’re making the right decisions or whether God is even listening.
Romans 12:2 tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
What I find interesting about this passage is that Paul doesn’t begin by telling us to figure out what God wants us to do. He begins by addressing how we think. He tells us that our minds need to be renewed, and through that transformation, we’re better able to discern God’s will. That makes me wonder how many times we’ve been so focused on getting an answer from God that we’ve overlooked the possibility that our thinking might need to change first.
Are We Seeking God’s Will or His Approval?
I think there’s a difference between asking God for direction and asking Him to approve a decision we’ve already made. The problem is that sometimes we don’t recognize which one we’re doing. We pray about something, but we’ve already decided how we want it to turn out. We’ve considered the possibilities, imagined the outcome, and maybe even started preparing for it. By the time we bring it before God, we’re not necessarily asking whether it’s the right direction. We’re hoping He’ll confirm what we’ve already chosen.
And I don’t think we always do this intentionally. Sometimes we’re genuinely excited about an opportunity or convinced that something would be good for us. We may have spent months or even years working toward it, so naturally, we want it to happen. But wanting something badly doesn’t automatically mean it’s what God wants for us, and that’s something we have to be willing to acknowledge.
Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” I don’t read that as God telling us not to make plans. Planning is part of being responsible with the time, opportunities, and resources we’ve been given. However, we have to recognize that our plans are not guaranteed simply because we’ve made them. We can do everything we believe we’re supposed to do and still find ourselves headed in a different direction.
Surrender Is Easier Said Than Done
We hear a lot about surrendering to God, especially in church. We sing songs about it, we pray about it, and we tell God that we want His will to be done in our lives. But I think sometimes we say these things without really considering what we’re asking. Because what happens when God’s will doesn’t line up with what we want? What happens when we’ve prayed about something, put in the work, and genuinely believed we were headed in the right direction, only for things not to work out? Are we still willing to surrender then?
I think that’s where a lot of us struggle, because it’s easy to say we trust God when things are going the way we hoped they would. It’s a different experience when we’re disappointed, confused, or trying to understand why something didn’t happen. We might even find ourselves going back over everything, wondering whether we missed something or made the wrong decision. Sometimes we want an explanation because we think understanding what happened will make it easier to accept.
When we look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we see an example of what surrender actually looks like. In Luke 22:42, Jesus prays, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Jesus knew what was ahead of Him, and He expressed His desire to the Father. What stands out to me is that He didn’t pretend the situation was easy. He acknowledged what He was facing, but He also submitted to the Father’s will.
I think there’s something important for us to understand here. Surrender doesn’t mean we can’t have desires or preferences. It doesn’t mean we can’t be disappointed when things don’t work out, and it certainly doesn’t mean we have to pretend we’re happy about every situation we find ourselves in. We can be honest with God about what we want and how we feel while recognizing that His wisdom is greater than ours. Surrender is learning to bring our desires before God without making the outcome a condition of our faithfulness.
Sometimes Our Thinking Is the Problem
Going back to Romans 12:2, Paul tells us not to conform to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I think this is especially important when we’re talking about God’s will because so much of what influences our decisions comes from what we’ve learned, experienced, and been told throughout our lives.
We’re constantly surrounded by messages telling us what success should look like, how quickly we should accomplish certain things, and what we’re supposed to have achieved by a particular age. We see what other people are doing, and whether we admit it or not, sometimes we start comparing our progress to theirs. We may begin to question why something seems to be happening for someone else while we’re still waiting for our own circumstances to change.
But whose expectations are we actually trying to meet? Are we making decisions because we believe they’re consistent with God’s Word and the direction we’re being led, or because we feel pressured to keep up with everyone else? Are we pursuing something because it’s right for us, or because we’ve convinced ourselves that we’re falling behind?
Renewing our minds requires us to examine those influences. It means being willing to question some of the assumptions we’ve carried for years and allowing Scripture to shape how we view our circumstances. Just because something looks successful from the outside doesn’t mean it’s necessarily where we need to be. Likewise, just because our lives don’t look the way we expected doesn’t mean we’ve failed or that God has forgotten about us.
God’s Will Doesn’t Mean Everything Will Be Easy
Another thing I think we need to be careful about is assuming that if something is God’s will, everything will work out without difficulty. We’ve probably heard people say that when God opens a door, no one can close it, or that if something is meant for us, it’ll happen. While there’s truth in recognizing God’s sovereignty, I think we sometimes take those ideas and turn them into an expectation that following God should be relatively easy.
But when we read Scripture, that’s not what we see. Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and that certainly wasn’t an easy assignment. David was anointed to become king, but he didn’t immediately take the throne. Joseph experienced betrayal, slavery, and imprisonment before eventually being placed in a position of authority. Paul faced persecution and imprisonment while carrying out his ministry, and Jesus Himself suffered while fulfilling the Father’s will.
So why do we sometimes assume that difficulties automatically mean we’re doing something wrong? If anything, these examples remind us that following God’s direction doesn’t remove every obstacle. Sometimes the very thing we’re called to do requires patience, sacrifice, perseverance, and a willingness to keep going when circumstances aren’t ideal.
Now, that doesn’t mean every difficult situation is something God wants us to remain in. We still need wisdom and discernment. There are times when walking away is the right decision, and there are times when we need to stay and work through something. The point is that we can’t use comfort or difficulty alone to determine whether we’re following God’s will. We have to look beyond how something feels in the moment.
Our Feelings Aren’t Always Reliable
I think we also have to be careful about how quickly we attribute our feelings to God’s direction. We might say we have peace about something, or that we feel strongly that God is leading us in a particular direction. And while I believe God can give us peace and guide us through the Holy Spirit, I also believe we have to recognize that our emotions can influence how we interpret situations.
Sometimes we feel good about a decision because it’s what we wanted in the first place. Sometimes we’re uncomfortable because we’re being challenged to do something unfamiliar. Other times, we may be afraid of making the wrong choice, so we keep waiting for some unmistakable sign before we’re willing to move forward. But how do we distinguish between our own feelings and genuine spiritual discernment?
This is another reason why renewing our minds is so important. We need to be spending time in Scripture, praying, seeking wisdom, and being willing to examine our motives. We also need to be open to godly counsel, especially when we’re dealing with decisions that could have significant consequences. Sometimes another perspective can help us recognize something we’ve overlooked because we’re too emotionally invested in the outcome.
James 1:5 tells us that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously. I appreciate that Scripture doesn’t tell us we have to figure everything out on our own. We can ask for wisdom, and we can continue seeking it as we work through our decisions. That doesn’t mean every answer will come immediately or that every situation will suddenly become clear, but it does remind us that we don’t have to rely solely on our own understanding.
Are We Overlooking What God Has Already Told Us?
Sometimes I think we become so focused on discovering God’s will for a particular situation that we overlook the things He’s already made clear in Scripture. We want to know what job to take, what opportunity to pursue, where we’re supposed to go, or what our lives will look like several years from now. Those are reasonable things to pray about, but they aren’t the only areas where God’s will matters.
Scripture already gives us direction concerning how we’re supposed to live. We’re called to love God and love others, practice forgiveness, demonstrate integrity, show compassion, pursue righteousness, and treat people with dignity. We’re instructed to be responsible with what we’ve been given and to conduct ourselves in ways that reflect our relationship with Christ. These things may not answer every question we have about our future, but they do give us a foundation for how we approach our decisions.
For example, we may not know whether a particular career opportunity is right for us, but we do know that dishonesty and mistreating others shouldn’t be part of how we pursue it. We may not know how a relationship will turn out, but we do know that love, respect, patience, and integrity should matter in how we conduct ourselves. Sometimes we spend so much time looking for a specific answer that we neglect the responsibilities already in front of us.
Psalm 119:105 describes God’s Word as a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. I think that’s a helpful reminder that we may not always have the entire journey laid out before us. We may only have enough understanding to make the next decision, and that can be frustrating when we’d much rather know how everything is going to turn out. But we can still make thoughtful, faithful choices with the guidance we already have.
How Much Do We Really Trust God?
When we look at God’s will versus our own, I think a lot of it comes back to trust. We can say we trust God, and we may genuinely believe that we do, but our trust is often tested when circumstances don’t go the way we expected. It’s one thing to trust God when a prayer is answered the way we hoped. It’s another thing when we’ve been waiting for months or years and still don’t have a clear answer.
Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. I think that’s easier to read than it is to practice, especially when we’re dealing with something that matters deeply to us. We want to understand why things happen, why certain opportunities don’t work out, or why we’re still waiting when we’ve done everything we know to do.
We also have to be careful about assuming that every disappointment was God deliberately closing a door or that every delay means He’s preparing something better in the way we imagine. Sometimes things don’t work out because of circumstances, other people’s decisions, or simply because life doesn’t always unfold according to our plans. We may never fully understand why something happened, and I think we have to be willing to acknowledge that rather than trying to attach a spiritual explanation to every experience.
Trusting God doesn’t mean ignoring those realities. It means continuing to seek Him and apply His Word even when the circumstances themselves don’t offer a clear explanation. We may not know why a particular situation unfolded the way it did, but we can still consider what wisdom, responsibility, and faithfulness look like in our response.
Learning to Pray Differently
Maybe part of growing in our faith is learning to approach prayer a little differently. I don’t mean that we stop asking God for the things we desire or that we shouldn’t pray specifically. Scripture encourages us to bring our requests before God, and I believe we should be honest about what we’re hoping for. But prayer is also an opportunity to examine our motives, seek wisdom, and become more attentive to God’s Word.
For instance, when we’re considering a new opportunity, we can pray not only for the opportunity itself but also for wisdom to evaluate the responsibilities, commitments, and potential consequences involved. When we’re dealing with a difficult relationship, we can ask God to help us recognize where forgiveness, healthy boundaries, accountability, or reconciliation may be needed. And when we’re trying to make a major life decision, we can pray for the patience to gather the information we need rather than rushing because we feel pressured to have everything figured out.
I think it’s important to recognize that prayer and practical decision-making work together. We can seek God while also doing our research, asking questions, considering our responsibilities, and listening to wise counsel. Faith doesn’t eliminate our responsibility to think, plan, and act wisely. Sometimes, even after we’ve prayed and considered our options, we still have to make a decision without knowing exactly how things will turn out.
Walking It Out
As we come back to Romans 12:2, I think it’s worth remembering that Paul places an emphasis on transformation. He isn’t simply telling us to find out what God wants so that we can make the right decisions. He’s reminding us that our thinking needs to be shaped by something greater than the expectations and influences of the world around us.
So perhaps the next time we’re faced with a decision, we can begin by examining how we’re approaching it. Are we being influenced by comparison, fear, impatience, or pressure from others? Have we taken the time to consider what Scripture teaches about the situation? Are we seeking wisdom, or are we only looking for reassurance that the decision we’ve already made is the right one? These are practical questions that can help us recognize where our thinking may need to change.
I don’t think learning to discern God’s will is something we accomplish once and never have to revisit. As long as we’re making decisions, experiencing change, and dealing with circumstances we can’t control, we’re going to have opportunities to grow in wisdom and faith. Some decisions will be straightforward, while others will require more time, prayer, and careful consideration.
That’s what makes faith practical. It’s not just something we talk about on Sunday or something we say when everything is going well. It’s something we have to apply in our everyday decisions, in our relationships, in our responsibilities, and in those moments when we’re not quite sure what comes next. Romans 12:2 reminds us that as our minds are renewed, we become better equipped to recognize what is consistent with God’s will and live accordingly.
Reflection Questions
As we reflect on God’s will versus our own, I think there are a few things worth considering. Are we genuinely seeking God’s direction, or are we hoping He’ll confirm something we’ve already decided? How do our personal expectations influence the way we interpret God’s guidance? Are there areas of our lives where our feelings, fears, or outside pressures are influencing our decisions more than Scripture? Have we become so focused on what we want to happen next that we’re overlooking what we should be doing right now? And what practical changes can we make to ensure we’re seeking wisdom rather than simply pursuing the outcome we prefer?
These aren’t necessarily questions we can answer immediately, and that’s okay. Sometimes we need to spend time reflecting on our motives, examining our expectations, and considering how the principles we read in Scripture apply to the decisions we’re facing.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, as we continue growing in our relationship with You, help us to recognize the difference between what we want and what You desire for our lives. We acknowledge that we have our own plans, expectations, and hopes for the future, and sometimes those desires influence how we approach our decisions. Help us to renew our minds through Your Word so that our choices are guided by wisdom rather than fear, impatience, or outside pressure. Give us discernment when we are uncertain, patience when we need to wait, and courage when difficult decisions must be made. Help us to be responsible with the opportunities and obligations already before us, and teach us to seek Your guidance in both the ordinary and significant decisions of life. May our thoughts, attitudes, and actions increasingly reflect Your will as we continue growing in faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Until next time, remember, faith isn’t complicated. It’s practical. Walk it out one step at a time.
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